As The Winds Howled
by Marinus-pseudothyrum
Summary: Toothless watches over his humans during one of the long cold winter nights in Berk HiccupXAstrid *One Shot*


_Disclaimer: HTTYD is not mine_

The winters on Berk were always hard, the sheep were kept in and the ships stayed still in the harbour as their sailors waited indoors. No one went out at night, too dangerous with the gales, many dragons stayed indoors with their human compatriots and fuelled the fires in the grates, keeping the houses of the Vikings warm and lit as the wind, rain, snow and hail threw itself at the village with a vengeance.

It had been many years since the chief's son had been the first to ride a dragon, and now it was common practise.

Dragons were everywhere in Berk, and whilst Chief Stoick and the council of elders were still in charge, the first Viking to ever ride a dragon lay in a large bed in a wooden house which looked more charred than the others in the village. A proud wooden dragon's head with alive green eyes stood guard above the large door and there was even a very large cat flap, similarly charred, through which Toothless, the only Night Fury in the village, and a Deadly Nadder could easily get through. The fatter blue dragon was curled up in front of the roaring fire, snoring softly next to its sleeker dark companion, who blinked as he woke up and raised his head.

Toothless silently got to his feet and shook slightly, then padded up the open wooden stairs to the upper floor. Similarly decorated in sparse wood with shelves around the edge filled with random objects and inventions that were half made Toothless looked to the grate and saw the fire has dyed down to glowing embers. The room felt cold, even to his thick scales, and he looked to the bed to see if they had noticed. Two long lumps beneath the heavy covers showed where his human and mate lay, and he watched as the lumps rose and fell with each deep breath, before turning back to the grate and relighting it as quietly as he could. He still made a noise, and he turned quickly to the bed and saw his human had woken up, and had sat up suddenly, blinking into the flickering darkness. This was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of chief Stoick the Vast and Toothless's rider. There was a dagger next to the side of his bed, and as he clumsily reached for it he knocked it on the floor and out of reach. Toothless crooned quietly to alert Hiccup to his presence, and padded up to the side of the bed. Hiccup smiled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and briefly scratched his beard, feeling the cold night cut through him as Toothless replaced the dagger on the table with his mouth.

"Hey Toothless, watching out for us?" he said quietly, and scratched the dragon behind the ears. Toothless almost purred and closed his eyes, moving his head so Hiccup could scratch the other side. He heard him chuckle, and whisper "Good boy" and then shiver. Toothless knew his human was smaller than the others, his thin scraggly build had not developed a great deal with his age, and Toothless was aware of how his human could easily get cold and then ill, and so rearing up on his hind legs he nosed Hiccup's hand back under the covers, feeling the goosebumps along his bare arm. Hiccup chuckled again and headed his dragon's advice, sliding back down into the next of warm blankets and the body heat of the person next to him. Toothless nodded at this, satisfied, and padded round to the other side of the bed where a pale hand flopped out of the warm cocoon. Again he nosed it in, and the sleeping figure murmured a thanks and snuggled down deeper.

"Toothless, she needs her sleep" Hiccup said quietly, and Toothless frowned at this insinuation that he was somehow disrupting them. He knew she needed sleep, he was just as much aware of her condition as Hiccup was, if not more, and he was being told off for helping!

"Its s'alright…" Astrid murmured quietly, and reached out a hand to pet him, which Toothless immediately nosed back in. Astrid laughed sleepily, and hugged her hands closer to her body as she suppressed a shiver from Hiccup's movement of the blankets. She shuddered again before she felt his long lean body slide back into the bed and press himself against her back, his arm curling round her middle as she drifted back to sleep. Toothless blinked as the pair, and seeing his work was done padded out of the room and down the stairs, going back to the Nadder and curling up around him.

Hiccup yawned as he heard his dragon leave, and tucked the blankets over them more securely, his eyes falling to his companion as she slept, dressed in a long nightdress of deep green with long sleeves which matched his shorter tunic and loose trousers, and he allowed himself a sleepy smile as he moved even closer against her warm back, his legs bending so they aligned with the back of her legs. She muttered quietly in her sleep as his hand came to rest on her distended stomach, and her hand placed itself on top of his as his other arm found its way beneath her head so she rested on his bicep. He breathed in the scent of her hair as sleep began to overpower him once again and his eyes drifted closed he nuzzled her thick blonde plait and moved it aside to rest his nose against the back of her neck, allowing the heat from their bodies to fill the cocoon in which they had nested, almost every part of their body's touching as the winds howled outside.

In the room below Toothless curled around the Nadder in front of the fire, and sensed his human sliding back into the comforts of sleep, and in his way smiled, before resting his head on the warm charred rug and closing his eyes.

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